Oh not another pokemon christmas fic!
by Psyduck Ranger
Summary: Oh yes, another pokemon christmas fic, but hey, its my first! Anyway, Ash and Misty realise that with only one day left to get one, they still need to get the other a present! Okay, okay, its AAML. Pickle based humour in third and final chapter.
1. 23rd December

A/N: Oh bring us some ficcy pudding…Seasons greetings everybody! Its finally here, my pokemon Christmas fic! To the fic!

Disclaimer: Yada yada yada, you know the drill, I don't own pokemon or any of that, lets get on with it already!

23rd of December.

"Come on, Pikachu, hurry up!"

Ash Ketchum, wannabe pokemon master, was running along the road to Pallet town, his best friend and partner, Pikachu, not far behind, as this year, he and his friends, May, Max and Brock, had decided to spend Christmas with their families. Ash was extra excited, as he had not only not seen his Mom for several months, but he hadn't spent Christmas with her for several years.

"Pika, Pikachu" the little yellow mouse cried, half angrily, half exasperatedly, half happily(Yeah, you read it right).

"Alright! We're here" Ash told Pikachu, as they reached the top of a hill over-looking Pallet, which looked like it was off a Christmas card.

Upon hearing that Pikachu realised that Ash was only going to run faster, so quickly hopped onto his shoulder, just in time before he was proven right.

When Ash reached his own house he and Pikachu gasped at the effort that Ash's Mom had put into the outdoor Christmas decorations. There was a life-size luminous Santa, complete with three elves, his sled, and nine Stantler in front, on the ground, there were several real snowmen, a gigantic fully decorated Christmas tree, taller than the house, and also another complete Santa-sled-Stantler combo on the roof, which caused Ash to frown slightly, as he wondered how his Mom had planned on Santa landing there(yes, Ash still believes in Santa, but then again, he has met him!). Nevertheless, he walked over to his door, knocked, and embraced for a bone-crushing hug. But he wasn't going to get one from whom he expected…

"Hi Mo-Misty!" he cried in shock, as behind the door he saw his red-headed friend answered, cried "Ash!" and brought him into the bone-crushing hug he'd forgotten to continue embracing for after he saw Misty.

"What are you doing here! And when did you get here!" he asked with a smile as she let him go.

"Well, duh, I'm here to spend Christmas, silly!" she told him with a giggle. "But as for when, or even how I got here, I've no idea. I just woke up this morning, and instead of being in my own bed, I was in yours. I mean-" she tried to add quickly, looking flustered and blushing, but Ash cut her off.

"Its Ok, Mist', I get it" he said, laughing, but also blushing slightly himself.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried, and jumped into Misty's arms.

"Oh, hey Pikachu!" she said cuddling it. "How've you been?".

"Pikachu, pipipi" it said matter-of-factly.

"Uh, Misty, could I come in please? Only, its kinda cold" Ash asked.

"Oh! Sorry Ash!" she cried, as she moved out of his way.

"Thanks. So where's my Mom?" he asked, looking around.

"She had to go get some last-minute Christmas shopping" she answered, walking to the kitchen. "So I had to make myself some dinner, want some?".

"Wh-what is it?" he asked, scared, as he had had some of Misty's cooking before, and he'd woken up some time later in a hospital bed.

"Well, you know, I thought I really do need to have a healthy, balanced and nutritional dinner, and the first thing that came to mind was-" but she was cut off by Ash, because he could recognise that smell, no matter what flavour or how they were cooked, he would always recognise the smell of-

"Cookies!" he yelled, and hurried after her.

"Uh, yeah. Does that mean you want some?" she asked chuckling, as he sped in after her.

"Well, you know I cant turn down a good cookie!" he said, cramming one into his mouth, but spat it out a few seconds later. "But these are disgusting! Yuck!".

"Oh yeah! Think you could do any better! Huh!" she asked, and Ash immediately recognised a challenge.

"Your on!" he answered, and got to work.

Three seconds later…

Ash was coughing like crazy, as he tried to waft the thick, black smoke away from Misty and himself, whilst she was having her Staru extinguish the flames that were rising rapidly.

"Return, Staru" Misty spluttered, then turning to Ash yelled "Ash! What did you do!".

"I uh-I turned the oven on" he said sheepishly.

"And that caused an explosion!" Misty yelled back, then folding her arms, added: "Well, at least now we know who's the better cook out of us".

"What do you mean!" Ash yelled. "That wasn't fair!".

"Oh yeah!" Misty yelled back.

Pikachu, sensing an argument on its way, decided to stop it before it started. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ketchum and her Mr. Mime chose that moment to walk through the kitchen door. It was another minute before anyone other than Ash was able to stand.

"Hi, Mom" he said, helping his Mom to her feet.

"Oh, hi honey! I thought you weren't going to be here until tomorrow!" she replied.

"So did I, but we got here quicker than thought" Ash said.

"Oh! And hello to you too, Pikachu" she said, as it leapt into her arms, then checking her watch said "Well, its pretty late already, sorry Ash, but as we weren't expecting you 'til the morning, we didn't have a bed made up for you, so you're going to have to sleep on the couch".

"What! What about my room!" he cried.

"Misty's in there" she said, as she and Mr. Mime started to put the shopping away.

"Now, now, Ash, you've gotta be a gentleman!" Misty said, as she left to go up the stairs, laughing, and Ash followed, grumbling, to get a bed cover.

As Misty and Ash were lying down to sleep, they both made a realization, and bolted upright, and said almost the same thing, at the same time.

"Oh no! I haven't got Ash/Misty a present yet!".

A/N: Oh, dear, with only one day left, are Ash and Misty gonna be able to find a present in time?

Sorry, I wanted to make it a one-shot, or at least get it all out on the same day, but not enough time, and a terrible internet connection(don't choose NTL!) meant that I couldn't do it just yet. Ooh, and hasn't it been _so_ romantic so far? But seriously, don't worry, it'll be here soon, and this will be all out before the 25th, and I'd just quickly like to say, no matter what ship you like, visit my brand-spanking _shiny_ new forum! Go to my profile page, and you'll find the link to it there. See you soon, people!


	2. 24th December

A/N: Ho Ho-oh! And I've had a few grammar lessons from J.K. herself. Well, okay, her books, but same thing!

24th of December

Ash woke up the next morning earlier than we would have liked, and tried to go back to sleep, but that become a lot harder after someone jumped on him.

"Come on, Ash, or you wont get to help decorate the tree!" he heard Misty's voice say, sounding fifty times its normal volume.

"Urgh, I don't wanna go to school Mom!" Ash grumbled, still half asleep, which he would be for the next half a second, before saying "Wait, did you say Christmas tree!", and immediately getting up to join Misty, his Mom, Pikachu, and even Mr. Mime.

Everyone had fun putting up the tree; when they got to the tinsel Ash and Misty started a tinsel fight, chucking it to each other, all though Mr. Mime seemed to be the only one who got covered in any, Pikachu electrocuted everyone again when some foil from a tree chocolate touched his cheek, and finally, when it came to putting the angel on the tree, Misty did the honours, and Ash looked up at her and smiled, until she noticed him watching, at which point he blushed and left to go to the Kitchen for breakfast that Mr. Mime had made, as Mrs. Ketchum smiled a knowing smile.

"Sorry, Ash, but it turns out that we haven't got any camp beds so you're gonna have to sleep in the living room again, okay?" she said as she and Misty came to join him.

"What! But Mom, I'm not aloud to see Santa!" Ash cried, with his mouth full. Mrs. Ketchum however, just laughed.

"Oh Ash, you don't seriously still believe in Santa, do you? Ok, tell you what, I'll have Mimey move the tree into the hall."

"Ok, then" Ash said, still slightly grumpy though.

"Um, excuse me, I gotta go get something from upstairs, I'll be back in a minute," Misty said, and left without a reply.

When Ash was done, he left the kitchen, whistling "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and saw, oddly, Misty just staring off into space at the foot of the stairs. He approached, planning on going up to his room and making sure Misty hadn't "Girled it up". However, Misty stopped him.

"Ash!" she yelled suddenly.

"Wh-what?" he asked, slightly scared. After he had answered however, she blushed deeply and said very quietly, so that Ash barely heard her "Um, we-we're under mistletoe."

"Huh! No way!" he cried, as he looked up, and saw that she was right; the dreaded plant was dangling away above their heads, then blushed, and looked around, trying to find some way out of the embarrassing situation, then, thankfully, spotted something perfect through the window.

"Hey, look! Its snowing!" he said, and pointed out the window, to where it was indeed snowing. The two of them quickly ran upstairs to get wrapped up, Misty completely forgetting the mistletoe over her love of snow.

Ash, Misty and Pikachu spent a few hours enjoying things such as building snowmen/pokemon, making snow angels, and then Ash and Misty had a hotly contested snowball fight, which Ash eventually let her win, but immediately regretted it for the gloating.

"Ha-ha! All hail snow queen Misty! Defeater of the weakling, Ash Ketchum!"

"Yeah, yeah, alright, you had your fun. Anyway-" he said, looking at his watch. "I gotta go, I'm going to town, I've got some - stuff - to do," he said, with shifty eyes. Fortunately, Misty didn't notice.

"Okay! Hold on, I'll come with you! I've got some shopping to do as well!" she said excitedly.

"Uh-uh. Okay. But, um, I gotta do some stuff on my own too," he said, shiftily again.

"Okay…"

Half an hour later, Ash, Misty and Pikachu who had decided to join them, had barely stepped into town, before Misty dragged them off into the nearest girly shop.

"Ooh! Ash! Look at these!" she cried, directing him to a clothes rack with tons of dresses on.

"Wow," Ash said sarcastically. "Yeah, that's the greatest thing I've ever seen. Can we go now! Seriously Mist', I've got some - stuff - to do," he said, going shifty again, due to his dislike of the word "shopping".

"In a minute Ash, in a minute. Oh, wow! Come on Ash, you gotta look at this!" she squealed, but more seriously than with anything else.

"What is it!" Ash said exasperatedly. When he saw what it was however, he knew she was truly serious about it.

"Isn't it just adorable!" she said, not taking her eyes of it.

Ash couldn't tell what it was made from(A/N: Mainly because I wouldn't know!), but it was a carved Tentacruel on a fine, golden string. He could tell by the look in Misty's eyes that she truly wanted it, and knew what to get her for Christmas now. Although he honestly couldn't tell how many people would want a Tentacruel dangling round their necks.

"Oh! Is that the time!" Misty said suddenly, having checked her watch. "Hey, look, sorry Ash, but I gotta go, I'll catch you later! Bye, Pikachu!" she said, and with that, left. Ash, thanking his good luck, picked up the necklace, and hurried to the counter.

"Hello, can I help you?" a cheerful woman dressed as an elf behind the counter asked.

"Um, yeah, how much is this?" he asked holding up the necklace.

"Its…$14.99, you're in luck, its on sale!" she told him with a smile, and Ash put his hand into his pocket to see how much money he had. It would cost him everything last penny he had(except his last one), but it was worth it. For her.

Present for your girlfriend?" she asked, smiling again.

"What! No! She's just a friend!" he told her.

"Right…" she said with a knowing look in her eye, similar to Mrs. Ketchum's.

"Do you think she'll like it, Pikachu?" Ash asked, as they was walking balk through the snow twenty minutes later, having had it gift wrapped, when the worst thing that could have happened, happened.

"BLIZZARD!" he heard people shrieking, as he tried to continue, praying that Misty was alright. But the storm was getting worse by the second, and eventually, he was knocked off his feet by it.

"PIKACHU!" the pokemon cried out to Ash, as he and the present were being swept away by the storm.

"PIKACHU!" Ash cried back, and only by jumping did he manage to catch it.

"That was close," Ash sighed, as Pikachu was safe, and it climbed into Ash's jacket, but it still gave another cry of "Pika!", and pointed upwards. Ash, seeing where Pikachu was pointing, gave his own cry of "NO!", as the perfect, once in a lifetime present was still flying upwards, and it was already way to far out of his reach. After ten minutes, when the storm was starting to die down, he admitted defeat, as the necklace was way out sight, sighed, and turned to go back home.

A/N: Oh dear! What'll Ash do now? With all the shops closed, no money anyway, and no time left, how's he gonna get Misty's present? And I've practically re-written this whole chapter to make it - different. I wont say anymore here, you'll just have to keep reading! And this might end up being a whole chapter longer than I thought it would be…


	3. 24th and 25th December

A/N: So, we're continuing with Christmas eve still, rather than going with my original plan, and having one day per chapter/one chapter per day. What else do I say?

24th of December(continued).

As Ash approached the front door, he sighed, yet again.

"Oh, man, Pikachu. What am I going to do? I _need_ a present for Misty, but how can I get one for her?"

"Pika, Pikachu," he sighed back, followed by Ash giving off another sigh.

"Hey, Ash, you're back late. How come?" his Mom asked.

"Uh, didn't you know? There was a blizzard," he told her.

"What! But Misty's not back yet either!" she yelled.

"What!" Ash yelled back.

"Don worry! I'm back!" they heard Misty's voice say.

"Misty!" Ash cried, pulling her into a hug, but quickly pulled out when he realised what he was doing, then mumbled "Uh, I mean, you're okay!"

"Yeah, I just got caught up, why, is something wrong?"

"Misty! We thought something had happened to you!" Ash cried at her.

"Well I'm fine!" she half shouted. "Anyway, can we watch TV? One of my favourite Christmas specials is on."

So the five of them(three people, two pokemon in case you've forgotten) spent the next hour watching _Jimmy the red-nosed Stantler_(don't sue!), then when it finished Mrs. Ketchum decided there was time for one more mug of cocoa before bed.

Ash had fallen asleep almost instantly when he had lain down, and he wouldn't ever remember how, although he guessed his excitement must have been cancelled out by his anxiety about not having a present for Misty. Even though he had fallen asleep quickly however, he wanted to wake up immediately, due to nightmares, all of them including Misty telling him that she didn't want to be his friend anymore because she didn't get a present from him(A/N: And that was the cleaned up version so that I don't have to change the rating).

"Ash? Ash, wake up!"

Ash could here someone calling his name, and despite the fact that he'd only just fallen asleep within the past few hours, he definitely didn't mind obliging.

"Huh? Huh? What's going on? Why's it so dark?" he called out into the black, and a few moments later he heard(and saw) the light turn on, and quickly closed his eyes, because he had just seen you-know who.

You don't know who? Oh, for crying out loud…

Santa Claus.

"Ash, are you alright? He asked Ash.

"I-I'm not supposed to see you," Ash told Santa.

"Yeah, well…what's up anyway? You wouldn't stop tossing and turning. Were you having a nightmare?" Santa asked.

"No," Ash answered quickly. Santa however frowned.

"Ash, I don't need to be Santa to know that that's a lie. Now what's wrong."

"Well…Hey! I thought you were supposed to be able to "see me when I'm sleeping" and "Know when I'm awake"," Ash replied.

"Maybe so, but I think it'll do you good to get it off your chest," And with that, Ash launched into the full explanation, and even telling him what he hadn't told anybody before, not even Pikachu, how he felt about Misty.

"…And now, with about eight hours left to go, I haven't got a present for her."

Santa had kept quiet throughout Ash's explanation, but now, he spoke up.

"Hmm. That's quite a pickle you've got there Ash. Mm, pickles, I like pickles, have you ever had a raw pickle, Ash?"

"Umm, yeah, but isn't that getting a bit side-tracked?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Anyway, I think I've got a plan…"

After Santa had told Ash the plan, which he had strongly refused at first, until Santa pointed out that it was his only option, and Santa brought up pickles three more times, it was time for him to go. But Ash had one last question to ask.

"Hey, Santa?" he said, just as Santa was stepping into the fireplace.

"Yeah?"

"I gotta ask. Do you really have extra time to help people with their everyday problems tonight?"

"Hey, you made time for me a few years ago, so now I've made time for you. Merry Christmas!" then Ash blinked, and the next moment, Santa was gone, and another moment and Ash had fallen asleep.

"Hey, sleepy-head! Come on, you gotta wake up! Presents!" and then, Misty jumped on him for the second day in a row, which Ash really didn't need, because at the mention of the word "presents", he had been up like a bolt, which meant that Ash and Misty painfully head-butted each other.

Everybody spent the next half hour opening their gifts. Ash had been given a new pack of underwear from his Mom, which he had quickly hidden as Misty was laughing so hard, a book called "Brocks best pick-up lines from - guess - a training guide from Max, a cuddly toy Pikachu from May, a photo album from Mist, which mainly had photos of just him and Misty, but there were some with Brock, Pikachu, Tracy, Max, and/or May, and he also got a jar of pickles that didn't say who they were from.

Pikachu had been given a bottle of ketchup from everyone, for which he was extremely grateful, except Ash, who managed to find him a book called "What to do if your obsessed with ketchup", which earned him a Thundershock.

Mrs. Ketchum had been given a necklace from Ash(which Misty had helped him buy), and perfume from Misty, and she had gotten a new apron from Mr. Mime, who was delighted.

Misty had been given a book about World War's one and two(who obviously had no idea what she liked), and perfume from Ash's Mom. Now the only thing left was Ash's present…

"Hey Ash, where's your present for me? Don't tell me you've forgotten," Misty laughed.

"Um, right, yeah, hey, could I talk to you upstairs for a minute?" Ash asked her.

"Uh, sure Ash," Misty replied, following him up to his room. "So what is it?" she asked when he had closed the door.

"Um, right, yeah," he said again. "Look, I'm really sorry Mist', but, I did get you a present, but yesterday, in the blizzard, it got blown away, I'm really sorry," he told her, and he could see she was disappointed.

"Oh, don't worry Ash," she said, despite her disappointment. "Its okay-"

"No it isn't!" Ash snapped suddenly, before becoming extremely shy. "You deserve the best, Misty, and anyway - Santa said - and I-I just wanna tell you-"

"Tell me what, Ash?" Misty asked, interrupting.

"I-I like you, okay! I really, really like you, I've liked you for ages, years even!" he said, panting. "Anyway, I gotta go now…" he told her, turning towards the door, but Misty stopped him.

"Ash, I-I like you too," she whispered.

"You-" Ash began, but Misty stopped him by kissing him. When they finished, Misty said "Merry Christmas, Ash," and Ash said "Merry Christmas, Misty," back, before they kissed again.

"Hey, Misty?" Ash asked eventually.

"Yeah Ash?"

"…"

"Ash?"

"Do you want a pickle?"

A/N: Ten, nine seven, six - wait, I'm early? Well, I wont be when my fic _Oh, not another pokemon _New Years_ fic_!

And, if anybody wants to see undeniable proof of AAML, follow the link on my profile page.

"And so(Santa said), the moral of the story is EAT PICKLES! Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!"


End file.
